I drove to Half Moon Bay by myself to my first twitter meetup on July 22, 2008. I heard about it from Laura Fitten (@pistachio, http://pistachioconsulting.com/). Laura and I are connected through Twitter.com.

The drive was longer than I expected. I initially thought Half Moon Bay was near Stinson Beach. It’s not. The drive ended up being almost two hours, including San Francisco Bay Bridge traffic that I had to pass through. The closer I got to Half Moon Bay, the more beautiful it was.

I was reminded of the only other time I had been there. In high school my science class had gone to Half Moon Bay for a fieldtrip to see the tide pools. That memory and the view around me made me eager to plan a trip their again soon, with my kids.

I finally arrived at the Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton! It was a stunningly beautiful hotel nestled next to the bay. The view was incredible! We were supposed to be meeting by the fire pit on the ocean side of the Ritz. What I didn’t realize was that the Brainstorm: TECH Conference that I had heard talk about was also going on there at the same time! In the same location! It was so crowded with people it was difficult to get to the fire pit area, which by-the-way contained no fire.

I first spotted Lucretia (@geekmommy)! Laura Fitten (@pistachio) was also there! Lucretia and Laura are both twitterfriends of mine and we recently met face to face for the first time last week at the San Francisco BlogHer ’08 People’s Party. I stayed with Lucretia, most of the time, and got to meet her family, her husband and adorable daughter! I met Shel Israel (@shelisrael) , also Ryan who has a startup and no business card! Robert Scoble was there, and I had orignally hoped to meet him, but in the end I was standing next to him and didn’t make the effort. He seems very friendly, maybe next time. He actually looked much younger in person than I had expected from the pic on his blog. There was a barbie doll version of him floating around that was hilarious!

Funny story. While I was standing next to Robert Scoble I was trying to set the date on my camera and had it pointed down and ended up taking a pic of his shoes! Made myself laugh!

The BrainstormTech people were beginning their dinner outside near our meeting spot and everyone started leaving the tweetup to find dinner elsewhere. Men that looked very much like secret service men, with the dark suits and earpieces, told us we had to leave. Right before that a woman had told me that I wasn’t supposed to be taking pictures. Oops, too late! (If I suddenly disappear, you’ll know why).

I had talked with Cathryn Hrudicka (@creativesage) on twitter and had hoped to meet her some time soon, but I didn’t realize that she was going to be at this meetup, so when she came up to me I didn’t place her at first, but luckily she did me. I was very pleased to meet her! She had ridden with another couple who initially wanted to leave early, so I offered to give her a ride home.

I was a little nervous about driving out of Half Moon Bay at night because there had been quite a few turns and I didn’t have clear directions home. I initially wanted to leave before dark, but Brian Solis’s cheeseburger description changed my mind. Luckily Cathryn knew her way around Half Moon Bay a bit more than I did so between the both of us we found the restaurant and the rest of the group.

The restaurant was part of a hotel, simple but nice. We had a table of twelve that included Laura Fitten, Shel Israel, Stowe Boyd, Brian Solis, Cathryn and myself. Cathryn and I ended up sitting across from Brian and Stowe. They seem to know each other quite well and were enjoying the night and a bottle of wine. After we all got aquainted they wanted to get another bottle of wine and share it with Cathryn and I. I was driving, but was really good and only had a small glass. I had my friends on twitter DM (Direct Message) me to remind me not to drink too much wine! (Thank you Mark and Tina!) Brian and Stowe were a lot of fun and Cathryn and I really enjoyed the dinner.

Even though we got turned around a bit at first, the drive home was very enjoyable thanks to Cathryn’s company. It was such a pleasure to get to know her.

Even though I had a long drive by myself, I am so glad I made the effort. I got to see some special friends again, and make some wonderful new friends.

Mamma Mia! Here I go again! Okay it’s still running through my head and I have the urge to dance and twirl and sing through the house! haha!

Last night my daughter19 and I went to the movies to see Mamma Mia! It was so fun! Originally a broadway stage show based on songs by ABBA and now made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnon. Also starring were Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried. Amanda just glowed as Sophie through the movie, beautiful girl!

We got to the theater 5 minutes before the movie started expecting no problem getting in, figuring people were mainly there to see Batman. Parking was horrible, and as expected, we saw lines of people waiting for Batman as we entered. We bought our ticket, walked down to our theater and as we walked in were surprised to see almost every seat was taken. We had to end up sitting in the second row from the screen! Who knew Mamma Mia! would be as popular as Batman?!? Go musicals! woo!

I found the movie delightful! There is a wonderful mother/daughter theme to the movie and I’m really glad I got to see it with my daughter. It was so nice to see mature women being portrayed who aren’t model thin.

Yes, true. Don’t expect a deeply seriously movie, it’s very lighthearted, though I did truly get misty a couple of times and totally cried during the pre-wedding scene (yes, I’m one of those). No sex scenes, but some sex talk. And wonderful, in my book, to see mature women, who aren’t model thin or perfect, having fun with their girlfriends and men! It was hilarious to watch the actors making music videos to the ABBA songs at the end! Um, Pierce’s voice made me cringe, just a little – in spots, but I still loved it because it was real. Meryl actually did a credible job singing through it all, who knew?

This is a movie to see with your mom, or your older daughter. If you’re in the mood for singing, dancing and fun, go see Mamma Mia! You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be singing the songs for days! Mamma Mia! Here I go again!

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I used to be a food server or waitress. I’ve worked in casual dining at chain a restaurant (Chevy’s Fresh Mex) and I’ve worked in fine dining in the Napa Valley at Villa Romano Restaurant and in uber fine dining at Julia’s Kitchen in Copia. I have first hand knowledge of American tipping practices and I am about to share them with you.

By and large people tip well, but there are those few that are still clueless. They don’t know what is appropriate, how much to tip, or they just aren’t sure how much it should be. There are the ones that don’t go out often, maybe only on holidays, or maybe are foraying into fine dining for the first time. They can also be from a foreign country with different tipping practices than we have. This guide is for all of you!

Casual dining:

Poor service: 10% or less
Good service: 15%
Great service: 20% or more

Fine dining:

Poor service: 15% or less
Good service: 20%
Great service: 25% or more

What defines good service? Good service includes a polite server who is efficient. The server tells you any specials and takes your order, returns with your drinks in a timely manner, makes sure your drinks are refilled or asks you if you would care for another. They make sure you have the correct silverware. They check to make sure your order arrives correctly and that it is to your liking. If there are any problems or special requests they do their best to take care of them as soon as possible. Coffee and dessert are offered at the end. The check is presented and payment is taken care of quickly.

In fine dining each coarse must be cleared and new silverware provided before or with the next course. Multiple courses are not served together unless the guest specifically requests it. Appetiser, soup, salad, entrée, dessert are the basics. Servers or wait staff may also “crumb” the table, either after each course or just before dessert, which consists of sweeping away any crumbs on the table with a small tool called a crumber.

Great service, well you will know great service without me telling you. Your server and wait staff are friendly and caring and attentive and makes you feel like a VIP. They make sure that your dining experience flows smoothly and that you don’t have to worry about a thing but enjoying yourself.

How do you calculate? Let me make it easy for you. A lot of people go with double the tax, if your tax in your area is around 7% this works IF you round it up, because obviously doubling 7% is only 14%, not 15%. That gives you 15%. Taxes can vary from area to area so the best way is just to look at the check total and figure from there, people it isn’t that hard. Let’s take a $100 check. 10% means just drop a zero or $10. If you need 20% double that, you’ve got $20. If you need 15% take half of that or $5 and add it to the 10% and you’ve got your 15% or in this case $15. Let’s try it with a $50 check. 10% drop the last number so you have $5. Half of 5 is $2.50 so add that to the 5 and you have $7.50 for your 15%, and double the 10% or $5 and that gives you $10 for your 20%. I hope this helps.

My last word is on gratuity. Some places add the gratuity. They may do it with parties of 6 or more, or they may just add it to every tab. It never hurts to ask your server if you aren’t sure. If they do add gratuity, find out how much. If they are only adding 18% and your server deserves 20% or more, it’s always very appreciated when you add extra. You’re ALWAYS welcome to leave them more.

Do servers split their tips with the other wait staff? Yes, they do. At the last place I worked we tipped 5% to the hostess, 8% to the bartender, 10% to the food runner, and 15% to the bussers. That totals 38%. Some places tip out more, some places tip out less. So remember that, the tip you leave isn’t only going to your server, it’s going to be split up between all the people who helped to make your experience a pleasant one.

Servers work for minimum wage generally and so the majority of their pay, the way they support themselves, comes from your tips. Please be generous.

For more tips on eating out please see my other post: Ordering Wine in a Restaurant.

Okay I am NOT @GaryVee, Gary Vaynerchuk, but I have worked in fine dining and I can give you some very easy common sense advice. If you don’t live in the Napa Valley or a big city, here are some tips to enjoy wine in a restaurant.

All of these are subject to change depending on the wine. Personally, I think champagne goes with everything! I love all varieties of wine. There are good wines and bad wines in all varieties so don’t judge all chardonnays by one bad one.

If you have no, or limited, wine knowledge my best recommendation – is to ask the server for a recommendation. You can read magazines or websites or books and do research and find an amazing high rated bottle of wine and then get to the restaurant and find out they don’t carry that wine. If people are having a variety of dishes I will often times suggest a pinot noir, a light red. Your server or the sommelier will ask what type of wine you are looking for, what your price range is, and look at what you have ordered and make a few recommendations. Don’t go with the house red or white unless you are on a strict budget. This wine was bought in bulk by the restaurant and won’t have the best taste.

As a general rule white wine should be less than 5 years old. It is not made to age a long time the way most red wine is.

Once a bottle of wine is ordered, the server presents the wine to the person who ordered it by reading the label, then confirms it by showing the bottle. After they say, “Yes, that is what I ordered”, the bottle is opened, by the server, and a small sip is poured to the person who ordered the wine. That person must try the wine to make sure it is not corked, they do this by swirling the wine, taking a sniff, then taking a small sip. Corked wine smells musty and tastes of mildew. It’s not really necessary to sniff the cork. Once they have approved the wine, the server will pour the wine for the rest of the guests at the table, and lastly fill the glass of the person who ordered. At this time you make a toast and clink glasses!

You may request an ice bucket for champagne or white wine to keep it chilled. There is usually no extra charge for this.

If your red wine is quite strong or has too much of a bite from the tannins, you can request that your wine be decanted. There is usually no extra charge for this. This is done by your server and your wine is poured into a clear glass decanter, which gives the wine more air surface to breathe. This is especially recommended for red wines over 5 years old. Decanting the wine allows it to breathe and smooths out the taste. There is also a really nifty wine aerator tool that does this instantly, called the Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator. I highly recommend it if you enjoy red wine!

Different shaped wine glasses are used with different varieties of wine. The general rule is that champagne is served in flutes, white wines in a smaller wine glass and reds in the larger bordeaux glass and the largest bowl glasses for the pinot noirs. This rule can change in accordance to the restaurant. Fresh glasses should be provided for each new bottle of wine unless otherwise requested.

If you bring in your own wonderful bottle of wine most restaurants will charge a corkage fee. This can vary greatly in amount from approximately $15 – $50 a pop. This fee is a charge for the service of using their glasses, which will need to be washed and hand polished, and the server opening the bottle and pouring the wine. On the higher end ($50) it can be cheaper to buy a bottle at the restaurant. If the corkage fee is a concern to you I recommend calling ahead to the restaurant and asking what their corkage fee is.

Most restaurants do greatly mark up the price of wine, it can be almost double what you would pay at a wine/liquor store.

Now you are ready to go out to a restaurant and enjoy wine! Cheers!

For more tips please see my other article: How to Tip in American Restaurants.

Robert Mondavi. I’ve had the pleasure of waiting on him and his wife and they were frequent visitors to the restaurant where I worked. By the time I waited on them he was in a wheelchair, and I never heard him speak. He was still an impressive man.

His wife, Margrit, was adorable! So friendly and charming and gracious! She reminded me a lot of Carol Channing with her wide smile and silver bob.

When the Mondavi’s came in for dinner Robert was wheeled in by a younger man and woman, who left after he was comfortable. Margrit took care of ordering and would attentively feed Robert and give him sips of champagne and wine.

A funny thing was they would usually bring their little white dog in it’s carrier. Dog’s aren’t allowed in restaurants unless they are seeing eye dogs, but what could we say? They are the Mondavi’s. Our Napa Valley royalty! Generally the darling little dog was good and quiet, but occasionally it would bark! All of the staff’s eyes would get big as we hoped that none of the guests complained. Sometimes Margrit would let the dog out and feed it under the table. One night as they were leaving and the younger couple had come to take them home, the man was pushing the wheelchair and the woman was holding the door and the little dog started running around through the center of the restaurant! Finally we shooed it out the door and the Mondavi’s were wisked away in their limosine.

We had a large event where the Mondavi’s were guests. I had to talk with the organizer and let him know that Robert was in a wheelchair as they had made no provisions for that and were unaware. They were under the impression that he was going to be giving a speech as well. I had to let them know that was doubtful unless his condition had changed since last I saw him. Margrit Mondavi had sat at Bouchon Bakery hand painting touches on all the menus as souvenirs for all the guests. They were such a lovely elegant touch. I am pleased to say I snagged one of the leftover menus at the end of the night!

Robert Mondavi died peacefully Friday morning, May 16, 2008 at his family home in Yountville, California at the age of 94. We were getting ready to celebrate his 95 birthday in June at Copia with a big event that included many of the world’s top chefs. The hope was that this event would continue in his memory. And what a memory he left.

When I was four or five years old I went to the California State Fair in Sacramento, the state capital(I say this because people who should know that Sacramento is California’s state capital don’t seem to know this. I have had people argue with me, people I thought were intelligent even!) with my parents. I was going to go with my Mom, then decided to go with my Dad, I let go of my Mom’s hand, turned around to go with my Dad, and he was swallowed by the crowd! I turned around to go back with my Mom, and she had disappeared as well! Somehow I found the police or they found me, I can’t remember that part. The police were trying to take me to the police department and I said, “No! No! My parents will find me! We can’t leave!”. And they did. My parents had bought me this huge balloon that was one-of-a-kind. I can vaguely remember it, it was a really big white balloon with red and blue stars on it. Luckily, my parents spotted the balloon and found me with the policemen!

The moral of this story is: buy your kids balloons! Oh, and hold on to their hand tightly in crowds, that too.

Yesterday, my friend Angela invited me to come visit her. She lives in Albany, next to Berkeley. I drove over and we decided to go out to lunch to this place that I can’t remember the name of, but she said it was across the street from Chez Panisse. So, I said, “What about just going to Chez Panisse?”. Angela said, “Well, I checked on that online and it said that you need to make reservations about a month in advance”. Angela is getting a degree at UC Berkeley (that I don’t remember the name of but it has something to do with food and wine). Angela also just finished reading “Alice Waters and Chez Panisse” by Thomas McNamee. (I can’t figure out how to underline the title here in WordPress – forgive me, I do know better). In any case I knew Angela would love to eat there between her major and just finishing the book, so we drove downtown Berkeley and found a parking spot and put 10 quarters in the meter. Berkeley is so cool and quirky. There were people picnicking in the grass in the meridian of the street. Lots of them! With cars driving by on both sides of them, like they were in a park! Most of them were eating pizza from a nearby place. I was dying for Alexandra’s digital camera! I had asked Angela to bring hers, but the battery was dead, so no luck there either.

We decided to try Chez Panisse before going over to the other restaurant, and they took us right in! We went upstairs to the cafe, which I am told is a bit less formal and pricey than the restaurant.

We were seating in a very tight spot, very close to another table, but we didn’t mind, everyone was very friendly. They first ask if you would care for still or sparkling water and they bring it the table in a pretty etched glass decanter. It says Chez Panisse on one side, and Still on the other. There was a wonderful flavorful brown bread that was served with some very yellow butter. Angela said that the guy that started Acme Bakery nearby had worked at Chez Panisse and Alice Waters had helped him get started, so we imagined that the bread was probably from Acme Bakery. That was where our bread from Julia’s Kitchen had been from, too. The busser girl told us the butter was from grass fed cows and that it was yellower because it had more carotene. Wow. I guess I didn’t even know what color butter was supposed to be. I’ve grown up on the pale butter made from grain fed cows. It’s kind of a shame.

We ordered a bottle of rose wine that was rather inexpensive and Angela said she had read it was one of Alice Waters’ favorites. It was perfect! Our server was apparently in training because another server came over to open our wine while instructing her. Later I saw her trying to open the wine for another table. I wanted to help. (I could have taught her much better…)

We shared an appetiser. (I’m on a budget) It was a salad with fried goat cheese. Angela once again said that she had read that it was one of the classic dishes at the restaurant. Next we share an entree. There was a boneless chicken that they said was pressed as it was cooked to make it crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. It was wonderful! As were the herbed peas. I’ve never had better peas. Honestly. And then there were some homemade potato chips as well. So good! Lastly, dessert. I had a peach and raspberry tart with vanilla bean ice cream and Angela had the fresh fruit, queen anne cherries and a plumcot. We were both in heaven! Truly a meal to remember!

In between all of this, I forgot to mention that since I knew I was going to be near Chez Panisse I thought I would bring along a resume and drop it off, since I am on the market at the moment. After we were seated for a few minutes I handed our server my resume and asked her if she could please give it to her manager. A few minutes later she brought it back to me and said it would probably be better to wait until I was leaving and give it to a manager myself, that way they might have time to sit down with and talk with me. Then, once again, a few minutes later a woman comes up to our table and says, “Hi, I’m Renee, did you want me to look over your resume?” I gave it to her of course and we continued our lunch. When we finished I checked to see if she was available, but the said she was in a meeting and had my number and would call me. Honestly, that is probably for the best, I don’t know what kind of interview I would have given after drinking half a bottle of wine!

Angela and I stopped and she got a couple of cheeses and some bread and salami and a lovely cold bottle of prosecco and we went back to her place, where her son Elijah and boyfriend Jesse were, and watched a French foreign film I had rented from Netflix, called Avenue Montaigne. Not Amelie, but very cute. We had the best French themed day!

Is gum dangerous? I never thought so, until today. Driving back to work after my lunch break I decided to freshen my breath WHILE whitening my teeth with some Orbit White spearmint gum. I grabbed the pack, popped out two pieces and slit my baby finger, my little finger, my pinky! It actually produced a drop of blood as you can see in the picture above (taken with my cell phone).

Laura arrived for the night in the chic new Honda Civic mini limosine! As she exited the car the paparazzi bulbs flashed and fans cheered! Entertainment Tonight hosts begged for an interview as she strutted down the RED (ish) carpet (looked a bit like a kitchen rug)! Laura signed a few autographs for her fans and gave a quick interview to ET, saying, “I’m so excited to be here, it’s going to be a fabulous night! Has anyone seen Jane Porricelli yet?” and then was wisked inside by her entourage to watch the show. During the show she enjoyed some expensive French bubbly champagne (or was it Ocean Spray White Cran Peach?) as she sat and chatted with the other celebrities (or maybe she was home alone).

Laura was thrilled to see little tiny Ellen Page win for best actress for her perfomance in Juno and was shocked to see Iron Man win best summer movie? “What were they thinking? I’ve never even heard of Iron Man? Naturally it should have been Sex in the City!” she exclaimed. Laura thought SJP and Jennifer Hudson were smashing as they announced Will Smith as the Best Actor for I Am Legend. Their outfits, their shoes! Oh YES! And Sarah Jessica Parker and Ellen Page must be about the same height, little tiny!!!

For best comedic performance Anne Hathaway announced the winner, “YEEEAH! JOHNNY DEPP!”, as he walked out from behind the stage casually chewing gum, the crowd was almost in shock! Laura wondered if he had been backstage and people didn’t realize he was in the theater? He wore jeans with a striped cap tucked in the back pocket and a brown leather belt buckled on the side, a black short sleeved button up shirt with rolled up sleeves, Charlie Chaplin type hair, looking very clean cut and handsome and hot! He looked so young, just like he did back in his 21 Jump Street days. The crowd erupted! Laura Iriarte and Lindsey Lohan were the only two celebrities to give him a standing ovation! Diablo Cody seemed ready to swoon as she touched her heart! Chris Brown and Rhianna oddly seemed unimpressed? Jonah Hill from Superbad, another nominee, gave him a joking two thumbs down. Johnny won once again in the Best Villian category for his performance in Sweeney Todd. Tila Tequila was thrilled! Johnny said, “wow, this is nutty, two times in one night!” and proceeded to thank one and all. He ended by pointing at Laura and saying, “Hey Laura, I must say you look amazing darling!” (or maybe he SHOULD have dammit!).

Tom Cruise, in a very preppy look, black slacks, white button down shirt with a black v-neck sweater over it and very shiny black shoes, presented the MTV Generation Award, an award presented to someone who has given us significant cinematic achievement. The award this year was presented to Adam Sandler! Tom Cruise calls him The Sandman and reminds us of all the films Adam has been in, then a montage of clips follows, including some Saturday Night Live clips. Finally as Adam is announced he slowly rises up through the floor of the stage and sings, “Nobody Does It Better”, his own version, as women in gold bikinis pose (a tribute to James Bond’s Goldfinger). After Adam acknowledges that his song was the most arrogant thing he’s ever done, he then gives a heartfelt acceptance speech.

Best Breakthrough Performance went to Zach Efron for Hairspray. Best Kiss went to Brianna Evigan and Robert Hoffman from Step Up to the Streets. Laura didn’t see the movie, but after their steamy re-creation on stage Laura could see why they won! The evening concluded with Transformers winning best picture. Laura saw Transformers and agreed it was a very good movie, much better than expected. But having seen both, Laura would have picked Juno. She thought it was much more original.

The standout performances throughout the night were Coldplay, The Pussycat Dolls, and Wayne’s World. Coldplay and their new song were amazing, but there were just too many rose petals or big confetti thingys fluttering around and getting on the lead singer and even on Laura in the audience. The Pussycat Dolls did a sexy, energetic, choreographed performance, and host Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey recreated their Waynes World skit! Party On Dudes! Excellent!

Laura’s posse snuck(?) her out of the auditorium through a secret back door, dodging the paparazzi, then the Honda Civic Mini-Limo took her off into a night of celebrity parties (or maybe she went to bed). What a life!

So, I turned down the job offer for a couple of reasons. The money might have been comparable…but…she might have expected a lot of me for that. Also, I felt really proud to work at Julia’s Kitchen at Copia. I really wouldn’t feel proud to tell people where I worked if I worked there, not that it’s a bad place or anything. It just would feel like a step backwards to me. There’s a big difference between fine dining and sushi.

I had planned to go out job hunting in Napa again today, but I am really low on funds and can’t afford the gas money. Sad. It’s up to $4.19 at the Bonfare gas station on the corner. I should have my monthly fsusd auto deposit on this coming Saturday, May 31st. That is all supposed to go to bills that come out of the account automatically. I really am not sure exactly when I’ll get my first unemployment check. So, I must be careful, and as hard as it is I have to say no to going out to brunch, going out to dinner, and going wine tasting. It sucks! I love all of those things!